About 800 civilian workers furloughed at West Point

WEST POINT — About 800 of West Point's 1,300 unionized civilian employees were furloughed Tuesday because of the federal government shutdown.

Comment

By MICHAEL RANDALL

recordonline.com

By MICHAEL RANDALL

Posted Oct. 2, 2013 at 2:00 AM

By MICHAEL RANDALL
Posted Oct. 2, 2013 at 2:00 AM

» Social News

WEST POINT — About 800 of West Point's 1,300 unionized civilian employees were furloughed Tuesday because of the federal government shutdown.

As many as 3,000 civilian employees, including those not represented by a union, could be laid off eventually, according to West Point director of public affairs Lt. Col. Webster Wright. He described the situation as "fluid" Tuesday as the military academy waited to learn which of its employees it requested be exempted from furloughs were approved for that status.

Meanwhile, for tourists, the shutdown will mean West Point's Visitors Center and museum will be closed, and tours of West Point and Constitution Island will be suspended, Wright said. The commissary also will be closed.

Don Hale, president of Local 2367 of the American Federation of Government Workers, said everyone went to work Tuesday morning only to wait around for word on their jobs. And once they got the word they were furloughed, they had to leave.

"There was a lot of frustration there this morning," Hale said. "A lot of people don't know how they're going to pay their bills."

Hale said it appeared that more civilian employees were exempt this time than during the furloughs over the summer, which were necessitated by the federal budget-cutting process known as sequestration. Hale said exempt employees included security workers, firefighters, and those working in West Point's power, water treatment and wastewater treatment plants. Also exempt are those workers whose jobs "directly support the cadets," Hale said, including mess hall workers, barber shop employees and uniform factory workers.